Skate



Jan. 29, 1935. J. TRACEY 1,989,344

v SKATE Filed July 6, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 Jan. 29, 1935.

J. TRACEY SKATE Filed July 6, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 the heel portion Patented Jan. 29, 1935 UNlTED srATss PATENT orrica es H. Weinberg,

Boonton, N. J.

Application July 6, 1933, Serial No. 879,236

5 Claims.

The object of this invention is to provide a skate in which the frame is equally well adapted to carry rollers or runners and which will be of such construction that the skate may be readily arranged to run upon two pairs of rollers or upon one pair of rollers and a single roller. The invention also seeks to provide a skate which may be quickly converted into the style desired and which will firmly support the skater when in use. Another object of the invention is to provide a mounting for the rollers which. will permit the rollers to rotate freely although they will be securely held upon the frame. Other objects will appear incidentally in the course of the following-description and the invention resides in certainnovel features which will be particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the annexed drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away and in section, of a roller skate embodying the present invention, Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same,

Fig. 3 is a transverse'section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, a

Fig. 4 is a detail transverse section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view showing the skate arranged to run upon a single roller at the front and a pair of rollers at the rear,

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the skate arranged with a single roller at the front and a single roller at the rear,

Fig. '1 is a side elevation, partly broken away,

, of the skate equipped with a runner for .use upon Fig. 8 is a transverse section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided a frame comprising a fore member or sole support 1 and a heel member 2, the heel member being formed with a heel stop 3 in the form of an arcuate rim provided at the rear marginal edge of the heel member and properly shaped to fit to the heel of the skaters shoe. A strap 4 is threaded through slots 5 provided in the heel member adjacent the side edges thereof and provided with a buckle 6 so that it may the ankle of the be passed around skater and fastened to secure of the skate in place. The fore member or sole support is provided on its underside, adiacent its front end, with a transverse rib which serves as a guide for the clamps 8 which secure the skate upon-the sole portion of the skaters shoe. These clamps, as best shown in Fig. 4, comprise a base portion which is adapted to fit against-the underside of the fore member tudinal alinement.

1 and an end member which rises past the edge of the fore member 1 and has its extremity turned inwardly, as shown at 9, whereby it wil readily engage around the edge of a shoe sole. The base portion of the clamp is ended longitudinal slot 10 adapted to engage the respective end portion of the guide rib '1, as will be understood, bolts 11 being fitted downwardly through the sole support 1 and the ends of the guide rib '7 and equipped with washers l2 and 10 nuts 13. The diameter of the washers 12 is greater than the width of the slots or notches and, consequently, they bridge the notches and bear against the undersides of the clamps at the sides of the notches so that when the nuts are turned 15 home the clamps will be firmly secured in a set position. The sole and heel supports are connected adjustably by a coupling bar 14 which has its end portions disposed against the undersides of the respective frame members, as will be under- 20 stood upon reference to Figs. 1 and 2, and provided with longitudinal slots 15, fastening bolts 1'7 being fitted downwardly through the respective frame members and through the respective so that the coupling bar may the frame members secured at tance apart so that the be adjusted and any desired disskate may be made to fit the foot of the skater. It should be noted that the bolts 11 and 1'! are all countersunk in the 30 respective frame members so that their heads will be flush with the upper surfaces of the respective members and, consequently, will not cut into and unduly wear away the sole and heel of the skaters shoe.

v The frame members 1 and 2 which support the sole and heel of the skater areprovided on their undersides with longitudinal flanges or bracing plates 20 which are disposed at opposite sides of the medial longitudinal line of the respective 40 members and spaced apart a distance equal to or slightly greater than the width of the coupling bar 14 so that said bar will be prevented from rocking laterally upon either frame member but will maintain the members in accurate longi- 45 The fore'member 1 is provided at its extreme forward edge with a downwardly turned lip 21 which serves to connect the front ends of the flanges 20 on said member and thereby reinforces the front portion of the skate. 50 The lower edges of the flanges 20 are shaped to provide downwardly extended portions, as clearly shown in Figs. land 7, the greatest depth of the flanges on the fore memberbeing located between the ends thereof and the greatest depth formed with an open- 5 of the flanges on the heel member being located at the rear ends thereof. Alined openings are formed in the downwardlyextended portions of the respective flanges to receive bolts or axles 22 and the skate rollers 23 are mounted upon these axles. As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, which show the most generally adopted arrangement, a pair of rollers is provided upon each frame member and the rollers. are disposed at the outer sides of the respective flanges 22, the axle 22 being long enough to-extend beyond each flange a dis,- ta'nce sufiicient to support a roller. In this arrangement, a spacer 24 is fitted upon the axle between the flanges so as to resist any tendency of the flanges to bend under use and the rollers are held upon the axle by nuts 25 and washers 26 fitted upon the ends of the axle, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The skate rollers are provided with relatively large central openings and the circular walls of these openings are lined with rings 27 which form raceways for antifriction balls 28 and cones 29 are fitted in the openings of the rollers to provide coacting raceways between which the balls are held. The cones 29 are fitted upon the ends of sleeves or hubs 30 which are fitted upon the ends of the axle at the outer sides of the respective flanges 20 and have their ends reduced so that they form seats for the cones 29 and maintain the properly spaced relation of the cones. The washers 26 and similar washers 31 which are disposed between the inner ends of the hubs and the flanges 20 are of such diameter that they extend beyond the circumferences of the hubs and bear against the outer sides of the cones, as clearly shown in Fig.

secured in place but be applied to the sides of the roller which are, consequently, free to rotate easily.

To further strengthen the structure and resist any tendency of the flanges 20 to.spread, I provide bolts 32 which are of the rear flanges, as clearly shown in the drawings, and equipped at their ends with suitable securing nuts 33, a spacer 34 being fitted upon each bolt between the flanges so that the flanges will be braced and all tendency of the same to spread will be effectually resisted. It is also to be noted that the spacers 34 will rest against the underside of the coupling bar 14 and will thereby furnish additional supports for said bar and relieve the strain upon the securing bolts 17.

When it is desired to have the skate run upon a single roller disposed between the flanges instead of pairs of rollers in which the rollersare disposed at the .outer sides of the flanges, short axles 35 are substituted for the longer axles 22 and the hub members 30 are fitted in the rollers 23 in just the same manner as in the previously described arrangement, clamping nuts 36 being fitted upon the ends of the axle and turned home against washers disposed against the sides of the flanges to support the, roller. Upon reference to Figs. 5 and 6, it will be noted that the same frame may be used-whether the skate is to run upon two pairs of rollers or upon two single rollers or upon a pair of rollers and a single roller.

If it be desired to employ the skate upon ice,

'a runner or blade 37 is substituted for the rollers and the bolts 35 which are employed as the axles for single rollers are inserted through the openings in the flanges and through openwarping. The fillers 3, so that when the nuts I 25 are turned home, the bearings will be firmly no clamping pressure will inserted through the rear ends of the front flanges and the front ends maintain the axle in place-andshown in Fig. 8, so that the blade will be held positively in the longitudinal medial line of the frame and will be thoroughly braced against may be of any suitable material and will be shaped to conform to the out,- lines of the flanges and of such size that they will completely fill the spaces between the runners and the respective flanges. The runner or blade will also be preferably formed with a cut away portion 39 in its upper front corner adapted to abut the downturned lip 21 of the fore member of the frame so that the openings in the runner will be properly alined with the openings in the flanges and the fillers when the front end of the runner has been made to engage the lip.

From the foregoing description, taken in com nection, with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a very simple structure which may be employed either as a'roller skate or an ice skate and may be converted from tion so that it is not apt to become detached, and

throw the skater. It will be understood, of course, that the flanges 20 are provided with openings, shown at 40 in Fig. 7, to accommodate the clamps 8 and the guide rib 7 reinforces the sole-supporting plate so that the skate frame will have ample strength to resist the strain placed upon it.

Having thus describedthe invention, I claim:

1. A skate comprising sole and heel-supporting members, parallel longitudinal flanges on the undersides of said members, a coupling bar having its ends fitted between the flanges on the respective members and adjustably secured to said members, ground-engaging elements carried by the flanges, spacers disposed between'the rear ends of the flanges on the sole-supporting member and the front ends of the flanges on the heelsupporting member, and means for clamping the flanges against the ends of said spacers.

2. A skate comprising sole and heel-supporting members, a coupling bar connecting said members, longitudinal parallel flanges on the undersides of said members spaced from both sides thereof, the frontends of the flanges on the solesupporting member being united by a downturned lip carried by the member, and means whereby a ground-engaging element may be mounted upon the flanges.

3. A skate comprising a supporting member, a transverse'guide rib on the under face of said supporting member, clamps at opposite sides of said supporting member having base portions "extending transversely of the supporting member against the with longitudinally extending slots open at their under face thereof and formed inner ends and slidably receiving the guide rib, and means at ends of said guide rib for securing the clampsin set positions.

4. A skate comprising a supporting member, a transverse guide rib on the under face of said supporting member, clamps at opposite sides of said supporting member having base portions ex tending transversely of the supporting member against the under face thereof and formed with longitudinally extending slots open at their inner ends and slidably receiving the guide rib, bolts extending downwardly through the sup- 1,-oso,s44 2 oi the guide porting member and end portions rib, washers fltted upon lower end portions of said bolts against the under iace oi the guide rib and having portions projecting from sides oi! the rib and bearing against the under faces of the base portions oi the clamps, and securing nuts carried by said bolts and engaging the washers to force the washers into frictional gripping engagement with the base portions of the clamps to secure the clamps in set positions when the nuts are tightened.

5. A skate'comprising. a supporting member,

flanges extending longitudinally oi. said and depending therefrom in spaced relation to each other transversely thereof. a transverse guide rib on the under side of 'said supporting member extending through and beyond the flange, clamps having base portions fitting against the. under side of the supporting member and formed with slots Open at inner ends of the clamps and slidably receiving the guide rib with portions of the base portions of the clamps extending through the flanges and supported thereby, and means at ends of the guide ribs 101' securing the clamps in set position.

' JAMES TRACEY. in. 5.] 

